Database Program for Logging Books?

Database Program for Logging Books?

01-22-2005, 12:34 PM

Sorry if this seems a bit off-topic but ....

Can anyone recomend a good database manager for keeping track of books read? I've logged every book I've read since 1986, but it's on an old DOS database that is no longer supported (Nutshell). I'm interested in migrating this to a new program and starting to use that.

Is there any basic product hat would let you set up fields with stiuff like Book Title, Author, Genre, Date Completed, Comments, etc.?

Comment

I catalogue all books in Palm Contacts application:
Last Name: author's last name;
First Name: author's first name;
Company: publisher and year
Title: book title;
Work telephone: ISBN number;
Notes: my notes about the book (filled after reading).

If there are more authors I put them all in the Last Name field separated by line breaks (first name, last name order) so the entry is neatly displayed in list and browse view.

Comment

After assessing a number of different tools, I decided on InfoHandler by MDE Software to catalog my online document and offline book collections.

Primary attractions for me of InfoHandler include its support for faceted classification schemes, annotations, and the ability to assign an entry to multiple categories. Thus, for example, I've created category sets for author, source, subject, genre, month, year, medium (film, television, radio, print, etc.) and physical location (in my library), among others. I've found InfoHandler robust and fast for a database of tens of thousands of entries with thousands of categories.

Another tool I'd recommend checking out is Zoot (Zoot Software), which I use as a general information management tool, especially for process-oriented projects and activities.

Although I've found both InfoHandler and Zoot elegant, robust, and highly useful, they're not free, and both entail a fairly steep learning curve.

I hope this helps, and will be curious to know what application you determine most appropriate for your needs.

Comment

Can anyone recomend a good database manager for keeping track of books read? I've logged every book I've read since 1986, but it's on an old DOS database that is no longer supported (Nutshell). I'm interested in migrating this to a new program and starting to use that.

The ListPro software allows you to define all your own fields, so I created my own customized list database with everything from title, author, publisher, ISBN, copyright date to my own review of the book, the URL of the author's web site, the URL of the publisher's web site, etc.

Comment

There is a product called Readerware that is awesome! www.readerware.com It not only will keep a list of what you have read, but will also keep a list of what you want to read, or what you have in your personal library. You enter the ISBN number and it will go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and BooksaMillion sites and download the book information from there including a picture of the book. I was getting crazy trying to keep track of what I wanted to read, what I owned and what I had already read and this does the trick. I list all of the books that I want to read and if I already own it there is a field called "location" and I list "Home Library" therefore I know I already own it. There is a place to mark it if you have read it. There is also a place for comments and to rate the book. You can get and 30 day free trial and after that you will be hooked. It is a one time price of $40. They also have the software for your CD collection and your video collection.

Kristie Porter

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I'm with kowgirl on Readerware. Readerware works with barcode readers and runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Palm. Besides books, Readerware has programs for managing CDs, DVDs, video tapes, etc. A client/server version includes all 3 programs and is available if you have multiple computers. If you've purchased a lot books, CDs, and DVDs on Amazon.com like I have, you could import your purchases automatically. Another cool feature is that it allows you to track items you've lent out to people. They're also currently giving away free bar code readers with purchase. No, I don't work for them.